KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging a federal inmate with an assaulting two correctional officers.

According to court documents, Warren Richardson, 46, of Leavenworth Penitentiary is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a correctional officer, two counts of assaulting a correctional officer with a deadly weapon and inflicting bodily injury, two counts of assault of a correctional officer, and one count of possession of contraband in prison. 

On February 6, 2021, Richardson was accused of using a handmade weapon with a 1.5-inch sharpened metal point to stab two prison guards.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668793868549.png" alt="Richardson has convictions for robbery and drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Richardson has convictions for robbery and drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging a federal inmate with an assaulting two correctional officers.According to court documents, Warren Richardson, 46, of Leavenworth Penitentiary is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a correctional officer, two counts of assaulting a correctional officer with a deadly weapon and inflicting bodily injury, two counts of assault of a correctional officer, and one count of possession of contraband in prison. On February 6, 2021, Richardson was accused of using a handmade weapon with a 1.5-inch sharpened metal point to stab two prison guards.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case.

Indictment: Federal inmate in Kan. attacked correctional officers

GEARY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a stabbing and have a suspect in custody.

Just after 7 a.m. Sunday, police were called to the 400 block of W 18th Street in Junction City after a report of someone screaming for help, according to a media release.

First responders found 31-year-old Rollin McClam with a possible stab wound. EMS transported him to Geary Community Hospital and he was later transferred to&nbsp;Stormont Vail&nbsp;in Topeka due to the extent of his injuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Alexius B. Mims, 47, is in custody in Geary County on requested charges&nbsp; attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668979019592.png" alt="Mims-photo Geary Co." />
 <figcaption>Mims-photo Geary Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>GEARY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a stabbing and have a suspect in custody.Just after 7 a.m. Sunday, police were called to the 400 block of W 18th Street in Junction City after a report of someone screaming for help, according to a media release.First responders found 31-year-old Rollin McClam with a possible stab wound. EMS transported him to Geary Community Hospital and he was later transferred to&nbsp;Stormont Vail&nbsp;in Topeka due to the extent of his injuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alexius B. Mims, 47, is in custody in Geary County on requested charges&nbsp; attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery, according to online jail records.

Suspect jailed for alleged stabbing in Junction City

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<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652905524551.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Are you a construction professional looking for a better opportunity?&nbsp;&nbsp;Morton Buildings is hiring for crew positions with total compensation up to $23/hour (based on experience).Apply online at&nbsp;<a href="https://mortonbuildings.com/careers" target="_blank">https://mortonbuildings.com/careers</a>Or in person at the Morton Buildings office, 711 W. Diamond Drive, Salina.Stop in to learn about construction crew job opportunities!Morton provides structured training, career advancement opportunities, and a safe work environment.&nbsp;Morton Buildings, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer &amp; Drug Free Workplace.

Kansans share insights into soul-breaking experiences of foster children

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY—A Kansas woman died in an accident just after 6a.m. Sunday in Pottawatomie County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Honda Accord driven by Alexis Brianna Ward, 22,&nbsp; Topeka, westbound on U.S. 24. 

Vehicle 1 left the roadway to the right. The driver over corrected. The car crossed the middle lane lines and left the roadway to the left. The driver over corrected again. The car rolled and the driver was ejected.

Ward was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Piper Funeral Home. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY—A Kansas woman died in an accident just after 6a.m. Sunday in Pottawatomie County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Honda Accord driven by Alexis Brianna Ward, 22,&nbsp; Topeka, westbound on U.S. 24. Vehicle 1 left the roadway to the right. The driver over corrected. The car crossed the middle lane lines and left the roadway to the left. The driver over corrected again. The car rolled and the driver was ejected.Ward was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Piper Funeral Home. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas woman dies after ejected in rollover crash

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/15/kansas-women-struggle-to-enter-the-workforce-because-of-lack-of-child-care-and-pay-gap/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA
 — Kansas women need pay equity and more help with child care, a women’s
 advocacy group said after compiling feedback from hundreds of women 
around the state.

United WE, an nonprofit organization 
dedicated to improving women’s economic and social status, partnered 
with the League of Kansas Municipalities to set up seven town hall 
discussions from June to August.

Using the feedback they got from 
these town hall discussions, in which 536 people participated, United WE
 found that more than 50% of the interviewed women were responsible for 
child care. The organization discussed its findings in a Zoom meeting 
Tuesday.

The organization conducted a 2021 
report on the status of women in Kansas in partnership with the 
University of Kansas. The report found that many women have been 
struggling to hold jobs with a lack of adequate child care.

Kansas infant care costs take up 29% 
of women’s median earnings, the report found, and Kansas has twice the 
number of children younger than 5 than available licensed child care 
spots available for them. Paid leave was reported as a significant issue
 for a majority of Kansas women, as many have to use unpaid time off or 
sick leave to care for their families.

United WE president Wendy Doyle said 
the state is currently facing extreme child care shortages: More than 
300 child care facilities closed during the pandemic, with no plans of 
reopening. Doyle said in some parts of the state, families are having to
 cobble together three different child care providers to have their 
children cared for during the work week.

“We are in a child care crisis for the state of Kansas,” Doyle said.

Kansas Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, 
D-Wichita, addressed the shortage of child care during the Zoom 
discussion. Faust-Goudeau said she was working with three Black women 
who operate daycare services in her district. All three women had their 
facilities shut down by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment 
for minor issues, she said.

She said one woman was written up for
 not having a roll of toilet paper in the toilet paper dispenser, though
 she immediately replaced the empty roll and had a stock of toilet paper
 stored in the bathroom. Faust-Goudeau said the rules should be examined
 during the upcoming legislative session.

“All of those three daycare providers
 here in the 29th District were African American women, and all of those
 children that they were providing for, the parents had to do something 
quick to get that child care to go to work. Our Legislature wants people
 to go to work, but it’s so hard to do without them having proper child 
care,” Faust-Goudeau said.

Doyle said the organization planned 
on examining licensing requirements for child care providers. Doyle said
 they had heard from several child care providers struggling with the 
requirements for licensing and inspection of the facilities.

“One of the reasons why we want to 
look at the licensing requirements is that it makes it cumbersome to 
even open a business,” Doyle said.

Women also had low civic engagement, 
with few women running for office in the state, the report found. Women 
made up only 28% of Kansas state legislators. United We said they had 
110 women interested in learning more about civic leadership roles after
 the town hall series.

Another area of concern was pay 
inequity. The average U.S. full-time female employee earns 82 cents to 
her male equivalent’s dollar. The pay gap is wider in Kansas, where 
women earn 78 cents to a man’s dollar. Women in Kansas have more 
education than Kansas men, and have a higher education level than the 
average for U.S. men, but hold less leadership roles than the average 
U.S. man.

Work environments also tend to be 
stressful for Kansas women, with 64% reporting that they had negative 
experiences, such as harassment or discrimination, in the workplace.

June Huie, an independent business 
owner, said she often acted as a mentor to women looking to become 
entrepreneurs. She said she was asked often about why men were oblivious
 to the struggles of their female counterparts in the workforce, 
especially men who were high-ranking employees and could make changes in
 the workplace structure.

“There’s just so many things that 
seem to impact women so much more than men. And we want to know where to
 start. Who do we start with?” Huie said.&nbsp;

Huie said she’s been bringing up her 
concerns to Sedgwick County city council members and county 
commissioners, but wasn’t satisfied with their responses. Huie said a 
partisan divide was also making it difficult to address women’s issues.

“They shake their heads: ‘Yeah, we 
understand it’s a problem, blah, blah, blah.’ And then they promptly go 
and vote absolutely against anything that they say, and there’s not a 
whole lot we can do about it other than un-elect them,” Huie said. “But 
we have that whole conservative versus progressive mindset that’s giving
 us some considerable difficulty here in Sedgwick County.”

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/15/kansas-women-struggle-to-enter-the-workforce-because-of-lack-of-child-care-and-pay-gap/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA
 — Kansas women need pay equity and more help with child care, a women’s
 advocacy group said after compiling feedback from hundreds of women 
around the state.United WE, an nonprofit organization 
dedicated to improving women’s economic and social status, partnered 
with the League of Kansas Municipalities to set up seven town hall 
discussions from June to August.Using the feedback they got from 
these town hall discussions, in which 536 people participated, United WE
 found that more than 50% of the interviewed women were responsible for 
child care. The organization discussed its findings in a Zoom meeting 
Tuesday.The organization conducted a 2021 
report on the status of women in Kansas in partnership with the 
University of Kansas. The report found that many women have been 
struggling to hold jobs with a lack of adequate child care.Kansas infant care costs take up 29% 
of women’s median earnings, the report found, and Kansas has twice the 
number of children younger than 5 than available licensed child care 
spots available for them. Paid leave was reported as a significant issue
 for a majority of Kansas women, as many have to use unpaid time off or 
sick leave to care for their families.United WE president Wendy Doyle said 
the state is currently facing extreme child care shortages: More than 
300 child care facilities closed during the pandemic, with no plans of 
reopening. Doyle said in some parts of the state, families are having to
 cobble together three different child care providers to have their 
children cared for during the work week.“We are in a child care crisis for the state of Kansas,” Doyle said.Kansas Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, 
D-Wichita, addressed the shortage of child care during the Zoom 
discussion. Faust-Goudeau said she was working with three Black women 
who operate daycare services in her district. All three women had their 
facilities shut down by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment 
for minor issues, she said.She said one woman was written up for
 not having a roll of toilet paper in the toilet paper dispenser, though
 she immediately replaced the empty roll and had a stock of toilet paper
 stored in the bathroom. Faust-Goudeau said the rules should be examined
 during the upcoming legislative session.“All of those three daycare providers
 here in the 29th District were African American women, and all of those
 children that they were providing for, the parents had to do something 
quick to get that child care to go to work. Our Legislature wants people
 to go to work, but it’s so hard to do without them having proper child 
care,” Faust-Goudeau said.Doyle said the organization planned 
on examining licensing requirements for child care providers. Doyle said
 they had heard from several child care providers struggling with the 
requirements for licensing and inspection of the facilities.“One of the reasons why we want to 
look at the licensing requirements is that it makes it cumbersome to 
even open a business,” Doyle said.Women also had low civic engagement, 
with few women running for office in the state, the report found. Women 
made up only 28% of Kansas state legislators. United We said they had 
110 women interested in learning more about civic leadership roles after
 the town hall series.Another area of concern was pay 
inequity. The average U.S. full-time female employee earns 82 cents to 
her male equivalent’s dollar. The pay gap is wider in Kansas, where 
women earn 78 cents to a man’s dollar. Women in Kansas have more 
education than Kansas men, and have a higher education level than the 
average for U.S. men, but hold less leadership roles than the average 
U.S. man.Work environments also tend to be 
stressful for Kansas women, with 64% reporting that they had negative 
experiences, such as harassment or discrimination, in the workplace.June Huie, an independent business 
owner, said she often acted as a mentor to women looking to become 
entrepreneurs. She said she was asked often about why men were oblivious
 to the struggles of their female counterparts in the workforce, 
especially men who were high-ranking employees and could make changes in
 the workplace structure.“There’s just so many things that 
seem to impact women so much more than men. And we want to know where to
 start. Who do we start with?” Huie said.&nbsp;Huie said she’s been bringing up her 
concerns to Sedgwick County city council members and county 
commissioners, but wasn’t satisfied with their responses. Huie said a 
partisan divide was also making it difficult to address women’s issues.“They shake their heads: ‘Yeah, we 
understand it’s a problem, blah, blah, blah.’ And then they promptly go 
and vote absolutely against anything that they say, and there’s not a 
whole lot we can do about it other than un-elect them,” Huie said. “But 
we have that whole conservative versus progressive mindset that’s giving
 us some considerable difficulty here in Sedgwick County.”

Lack of child care, pay gap keeping Kan. women out of workforce

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A 22-year-old gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and leaving 18 injured before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who were on the scene within minutes, authorities said Sunday.

Click below to listen to the 9a.m. Sunday police press conference

Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at Club Q after the Saturday night shooting, said Police Chief Adrian Vasquez.

Investigators were still determining a motive, and the attack was being investigated to see if it should be prosecuted as a hate crime, said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen.

Police identified the gunman as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was in custody and being treated for injuries. A man with the same name and age was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported he threatened her with “a homemade bomb, multiple weapons and ammunition,” according to authorities.

Police did not confirm whether it was the same person, saying they were investigating whether the suspect had been arrested before.

Authorities were called to the Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday with a report of a shooting, and the first officer arrived at midnight.

“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, Vasquez said, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”

Of the 18 people injured, some were in critical condition and at least two had been treated and released, officials said, adding that some were hurt trying to flee.

The shooting brought back memories of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-fl-state-wire-massacres-shootings-9c2d0d234e96c821beb29f1cf4c0eb82">the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida,</a>&nbsp;that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.

It was the sixth mass killing this month and came in a year when the nation was shaken by the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas</a>.

Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it was assisting but said the police department was leading the investigation.

President Joe Biden said that while the motive for the shootings was not yet clear, “we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years.”

“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” he said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, called the shooting “sickening.”

“My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I have spoken with Mayor (John) Suthers and clarified that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”

Ryan Johnson, who lives near Club Q and was there last month, said it was one of only two night spots for the LGBTQ community in conservative-leaning Colorado Springs. “It’s kind of the go-to for pride,” the 26-year-old said, describing it as a medium-sized club.

When he got home early Sunday, he saw police cars crowding the streets.

“It just feels crazy, you hear about it and you don’t think it’ll happen and then it happens,” said Johnson. “You come to Colorado and feel safer than other parts of the country and then this happens.”

Robert Nichols, 35, said he searched frantically Sunday for a friend who had told him she would be at the club and hadn't returned his calls. He said that led to some “anxiety inducing” hours before seeing the friend's car outside her home and deciding she was OK.

Although a motive wasn’t yet clear, nor were the gender identities of the victims, the incident came as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.

“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. It said its prayers were with victims and families, adding: “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”

The CEO of a national LGBTQ-rights organization, Kevin Jennings of Lambda Legal, reacted with a plea for tighter restrictions on guns.

“America’s toxic mix of bigotry and absurdly easy access to firearms means that such events are all too common and LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities, the Jewish community and other vulnerable populations pay the price again and again for our political leadership’s failure to act,” he said in a statement. “We must stand together to demand meaningful action before yet another tragedy strikes our nation.”

The shooting came during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-legislature-gay-rights-raleigh-government-and-politics-84892bee21af98cfd80d56481ca05458">Transgender Awareness Week</a>&nbsp;and hours before Sunday’s International&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-deaths-america-2022-data-76c8ba3936e9a724377d1733a4619d7c">Transgender Day of Remembrance</a>, when events around the world are held to mourn and remember transgender people lost to violence. The Colorado Springs shooting was sure to bring special resonance to those events.

Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website. In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”

Colorado Springs is a city of about 480,000 located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Denver that is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry.

In November 2015, three people were killed and eight wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when authorities say a man opened fire because he wanted to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions.

In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-riots-race-and-ethnicity-religion-a22a3e11521dfd398778d4820f484c50">anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action</a>.

The previous month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government, which lined up with similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor.

There have been 523 mass killings since 2006 resulting in 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.</a>

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A 22-year-old gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 18 before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who arrived on the scene within about five minutes, police said Sunday.

Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at the scene at Club Q, said Colorado Springs Police Department Chief Adrian Vasquez.

“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, the chief said, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”

Authorities received the report of a shooting at Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday, said Lt. Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department.

The violence is the sixth mass killing this month and comes in a year when the nation was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Castro said the suspect was injured but didn’t know how and that the FBI was on the scene.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it was providing assistance to Colorado Springs police, but said the police department was leading the investigation.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, said the news was “sickening.”.

Although a motive in the shooting wasn’t yet clear, nor were the gender identities of the victims, the incident came as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.

The shooting came during Transgender Awareness Week and hours before Sunday’s International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events around the world are held to mourn and memorialize transgender people lost to violence. The Colorado Springs shooting was sure to bring special resonance to Sunday’s events.

Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.

In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”

The shooting brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said on Twitter he was “sickened and horrified” by the shooting, adding: “The LGBTQ+ community is once again the target of the most terrible violence. And devastating attacks like these will only become more common if we don’t fight back. It must stop.”

Rep.-elect Eric Sorensen, who is Illinois' first openly gay congressman, tweeted that “we must use loud voices to stand up against hate. Our country must turn down the hateful rhetoric aimed at our LGBTQ community.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — An attacker opened fire in a gay nightclub late Saturday, killing five people and wounding 18, officials said. The club said the suspect was subdued by patrons.

Authorities received a report of a shooting at Club Q at 11:57 p.m. and responded within minutes, said Lt. Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Castro had few details beyond the number of dead and wounded. She said the suspect was injured but didn’t know how and that the FBI was on the scene and assisting.

The police department planned a news conference for 8 a.m. (10 a.m. EST) on the investigation.

The latest incident occurred as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.

The motive behind Saturday's shooting was not immediately known but it brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668949980895.png" alt="Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.-photo courtesy KKTV" />
 <figcaption>Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.-photo courtesy KKTV</figcaption>
 </figure>COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A 22-year-old gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and leaving 18 injured before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who were on the scene within minutes, authorities said Sunday.Click below to listen to the 9a.m. Sunday police press conference<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcspdpio%2Fvideos%2F685654389569596%2F&show_text=false&width=267&t=26" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at Club Q after the Saturday night shooting, said Police Chief Adrian Vasquez.Investigators were still determining a motive, and the attack was being investigated to see if it should be prosecuted as a hate crime, said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen.Police identified the gunman as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was in custody and being treated for injuries. A man with the same name and age was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported he threatened her with “a homemade bomb, multiple weapons and ammunition,” according to authorities.Police did not confirm whether it was the same person, saying they were investigating whether the suspect had been arrested before.Authorities were called to the Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday with a report of a shooting, and the first officer arrived at midnight.“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, Vasquez said, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”Of the 18 people injured, some were in critical condition and at least two had been treated and released, officials said, adding that some were hurt trying to flee.The shooting brought back memories of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-fl-state-wire-massacres-shootings-9c2d0d234e96c821beb29f1cf4c0eb82">the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida,</a>&nbsp;that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.It was the sixth mass killing this month and came in a year when the nation was shaken by the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas</a>.Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it was assisting but said the police department was leading the investigation.President Joe Biden said that while the motive for the shootings was not yet clear, “we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years.”“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” he said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, called the shooting “sickening.”“My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I have spoken with Mayor (John) Suthers and clarified that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”Ryan Johnson, who lives near Club Q and was there last month, said it was one of only two night spots for the LGBTQ community in conservative-leaning Colorado Springs. “It’s kind of the go-to for pride,” the 26-year-old said, describing it as a medium-sized club.When he got home early Sunday, he saw police cars crowding the streets.“It just feels crazy, you hear about it and you don’t think it’ll happen and then it happens,” said Johnson. “You come to Colorado and feel safer than other parts of the country and then this happens.”Robert Nichols, 35, said he searched frantically Sunday for a friend who had told him she would be at the club and hadn't returned his calls. He said that led to some “anxiety inducing” hours before seeing the friend's car outside her home and deciding she was OK.Although a motive wasn’t yet clear, nor were the gender identities of the victims, the incident came as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. It said its prayers were with victims and families, adding: “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”The CEO of a national LGBTQ-rights organization, Kevin Jennings of Lambda Legal, reacted with a plea for tighter restrictions on guns.“America’s toxic mix of bigotry and absurdly easy access to firearms means that such events are all too common and LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities, the Jewish community and other vulnerable populations pay the price again and again for our political leadership’s failure to act,” he said in a statement. “We must stand together to demand meaningful action before yet another tragedy strikes our nation.”The shooting came during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-legislature-gay-rights-raleigh-government-and-politics-84892bee21af98cfd80d56481ca05458">Transgender Awareness Week</a>&nbsp;and hours before Sunday’s International&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-deaths-america-2022-data-76c8ba3936e9a724377d1733a4619d7c">Transgender Day of Remembrance</a>, when events around the world are held to mourn and remember transgender people lost to violence. The Colorado Springs shooting was sure to bring special resonance to those events.Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website. In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”Colorado Springs is a city of about 480,000 located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Denver that is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry.In November 2015, three people were killed and eight wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when authorities say a man opened fire because he wanted to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions.In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-riots-race-and-ethnicity-religion-a22a3e11521dfd398778d4820f484c50">anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action</a>.The previous month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government, which lined up with similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor.There have been 523 mass killings since 2006 resulting in 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.</a>------COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A 22-year-old gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 18 before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who arrived on the scene within about five minutes, police said Sunday.Click below to listen to the 9a.m. Sunday police press conference<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcspdpio%2Fvideos%2F685654389569596%2F&show_text=false&width=267&t=26" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at the scene at Club Q, said Colorado Springs Police Department Chief Adrian Vasquez.“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, the chief said, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”Authorities received the report of a shooting at Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday, said Lt. Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department.The violence is the sixth mass killing this month and comes in a year when the nation was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Castro said the suspect was injured but didn’t know how and that the FBI was on the scene.Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it was providing assistance to Colorado Springs police, but said the police department was leading the investigation.Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, said the news was “sickening.”.“My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I have spoken with Mayor (John) Suthers and clarified that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”Although a motive in the shooting wasn’t yet clear, nor were the gender identities of the victims, the incident came as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. It said its prayers were with victims and families, adding: “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”The shooting came during Transgender Awareness Week and hours before Sunday’s International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events around the world are held to mourn and memorialize transgender people lost to violence. The Colorado Springs shooting was sure to bring special resonance to Sunday’s events.Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”Colorado Springs is a city of about 480,000 located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Denver that is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry.In November 2015, three people were killed and eight wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when authorities say a man opened fire because he wanted to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions.The shooting brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sickened and horrified by the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs. The LGBTQ+ community is once again the target of the most terrible violence. And devastating attacks like these will only become more common if we don’t fight back. It must stop.&mdash; Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1594327197019422722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said on Twitter he was “sickened and horrified” by the shooting, adding: “The LGBTQ+ community is once again the target of the most terrible violence. And devastating attacks like these will only become more common if we don’t fight back. It must stop.”Rep.-elect Eric Sorensen, who is Illinois' first openly gay congressman, tweeted that “we must use loud voices to stand up against hate. Our country must turn down the hateful rhetoric aimed at our LGBTQ community.”In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-riots-race-and-ethnicity-religion-a22a3e11521dfd398778d4820f484c50">anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action</a>.The previous month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government, which lined up with similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor.There have been 523 mass killings since 2006 resulting in 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.</a>-----COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — An attacker opened fire in a gay nightclub late Saturday, killing five people and wounding 18, officials said. The club said the suspect was subdued by patrons.Authorities received a report of a shooting at Club Q at 11:57 p.m. and responded within minutes, said Lt. Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department.The violence is the sixth mass killing this month and comes in a year when the nation was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Castro had few details beyond the number of dead and wounded. She said the suspect was injured but didn’t know how and that the FBI was on the scene and assisting.The police department planned a news conference for 8 a.m. (10 a.m. EST) on the investigation.The latest incident occurred as anti-gay rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. It said its prayers were with victims and families, adding: “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”Colorado Springs is a city of about 480,000 located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Denver that is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry.In November 2015, three people were killed and eight wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when authorities say a man opened fire because he wanted to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions.The motive behind Saturday's shooting was not immediately known but it brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-riots-race-and-ethnicity-religion-a22a3e11521dfd398778d4820f484c50">anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action</a>.The previous month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government, which lined up with similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor.There have been 523 mass killings since 2006 resulting in 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.</a>-------------

🎥Police ID gunman in mass shooting at  LGBTQ club in Colorado 

LYON COUNTY— Sheriff's deputies had an animal control adventure this week, according to a social media report from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/LyonCountySheriff/posts/pfbid0aDqyicHNJQHXib3PvpEesXQGXr5jMjqt5CXnGAoLcRQRC3WjEATdT1ecWfWX8xAbl">the Lyon County Sheriff. </a>

They we were able to help a county resident free a deer that had become stuck in his pond.&nbsp;&nbsp;

According to the sheriff, the deer was pretty exhausted when it was pulled out. The sheriff's office did not release additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668875280548.png" alt="Photos courtesy Lyon County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photos courtesy Lyon County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>LYON COUNTY— Sheriff's deputies had an animal control adventure this week, according to a social media report from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/LyonCountySheriff/posts/pfbid0aDqyicHNJQHXib3PvpEesXQGXr5jMjqt5CXnGAoLcRQRC3WjEATdT1ecWfWX8xAbl">the Lyon County Sheriff. </a>They we were able to help a county resident free a deer that had become stuck in his pond.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668875355162.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>According to the sheriff, the deer was pretty exhausted when it was pulled out. The sheriff's office did not release additional details.

Kansas deputies help rescue deer stuck in pond

TOPEKA —The Powerball jackpot was hit in Kansas on Saturday night for the first time since 2012! The winning numbers in the November 19 Powerball drawing were 7 – 28 – 62 – 63 – 64 Powerball 10. The grand prize jackpot in the drawing was $92,900,000 for the annuity option or $47,309,601 for the cash option, according to a media release from the Kansas Lottery.

The winning ticket was sold in Northeast Kansas. This region includes the following counties: Marshall, Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, Riley, Pottawatomie, Jackson, Atchison, Geary, Wabaunsee, Shawnee, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson, Osage, Douglas, Franklin, Miami, Morris, and the northern half of Lyon counties.&nbsp;

In Kansas, winners have the option to remain anonymous when claiming a prize. This prevents the store that the winning ticket was sold in being announced until after the prize is claimed for security purposes. The retailer is eligible for a selling bonus for selling the winning ticket.&nbsp;

“The Kansas Lottery had the pleasure of making someone out there a little more thankful this week,” said Kansas Lottery Executive Director Stephen Durrell. “We are thrilled for our winner, as nothing makes us happier than giving away a big jackpot to our players.”&nbsp;

The Kansas Lottery will be available for media inquiries during operational hours this week. As a reminder, it is a holiday week, and the Lottery will be closed on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.&nbsp;

Players are invited to submit all their winning and non-winning tickets in the Kansas Lottery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslottery.com/PlayOn/index.html">PlayOn®&nbsp;Players Loyalty</a>&nbsp;program to earn points for drawing entries and a chance to win cash and other prizes!&nbsp; PlayOn® is a registered trademark of Pollard Banknote Limited used under license.

TOPEKA —The Powerball jackpot was hit in Kansas on Saturday night for the first time since 2012! The winning numbers in the November 19 Powerball drawing were 7 – 28 – 62 – 63 – 64 Powerball 10. The grand prize jackpot in the drawing was $92,900,000 for the annuity option or $47,309,601 for the cash option, according to a media release from the Kansas Lottery.The winning ticket was sold in Northeast Kansas. This region includes the following counties: Marshall, Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, Riley, Pottawatomie, Jackson, Atchison, Geary, Wabaunsee, Shawnee, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson, Osage, Douglas, Franklin, Miami, Morris, and the northern half of Lyon counties.&nbsp;In Kansas, winners have the option to remain anonymous when claiming a prize. This prevents the store that the winning ticket was sold in being announced until after the prize is claimed for security purposes. The retailer is eligible for a selling bonus for selling the winning ticket.&nbsp;“The Kansas Lottery had the pleasure of making someone out there a little more thankful this week,” said Kansas Lottery Executive Director Stephen Durrell. “We are thrilled for our winner, as nothing makes us happier than giving away a big jackpot to our players.”&nbsp;The Kansas Lottery will be available for media inquiries during operational hours this week. As a reminder, it is a holiday week, and the Lottery will be closed on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.&nbsp;Players are invited to submit all their winning and non-winning tickets in the Kansas Lottery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslottery.com/PlayOn/index.html">PlayOn®&nbsp;Players Loyalty</a>&nbsp;program to earn points for drawing entries and a chance to win cash and other prizes!&nbsp; PlayOn® is a registered trademark of Pollard Banknote Limited used under license.

Powerball $92.9 million winning ticket sold in Kansas

BALTIMORE (AP) — Even as they signaled a continued hardline stance on opposing abortion and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-relationships-gay-rights-marriage-a6d9a92c4a5cda6e4b977f516a9a71a7">same-sex marriage</a>, the nation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-81eacc2fc6d53f81eacdcadc459b500a">Catholic bishops</a>&nbsp;acknowledged Wednesday that they’re struggling to reach a key audience: their own flock.

The members of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-539937dc8c2369d10a247428119d34f4">U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops</a>&nbsp;rounded out their leadership bench during the last day of public sessions of their fall annual meeting in Baltimore, which concludes with private meetings Thursday.

They also set in motion a plan to recirculate their long-standing election document in 2024 — a 15-year-old statement that prioritizes opposition to abortion — while acknowledging it’s outdated and adding a cover statement addressing such things as the teachings of Pope Francis and the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling in June that overturned the nationwide right to abortion.

The bishops elected Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley as secretary in a 130-104 vote over Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, who had been named a cardinal by Pope Francis. It’s the second time in five years that the bishops have passed over a Francis-appointed cardinal for a key leadership post.

Earlier this year, Coakley had applauded the decision by San Francisco’s archbishop&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-congress-nancy-pelosi-san-francisco-religion-cd68155b976a60fc4f6b948acb217858">to deny Communion to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,</a>&nbsp;a Catholic Democrat from that city who supports abortion rights. So had the bishops’ new point man on opposition to abortion -- Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, elected Wednesday as chairman of its Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

The votes came a day after the bishops elected as their new president Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Broglio is also seen as more of a culture warrior than Pope Francis, though Broglio has dismissed the idea of any “dissonance” between the two.

At the same time, Coakley cited the importance of Francis’ priorities in a news conference Wednesday.

Coakley is leading the bishops’ review of, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a document they have used in election years with only minor revisions since 2007.

While a full revision will take years, bishops approved Coakley’s recommendation to begin drafting a new introduction to issue with the document in time for 2024′s election. It would incorporate recent events such as the Ukraine war and the Dobbs decision.

The plan also includes using parish bulletins and social media to share main ideas from the lengthy document.

Coakley said the new introduction needs to reflect Pope Francis’ priorities, such as promoting civil discourse and protecting the environment.

“It’s a rich pontificate that offers us plenty to lay out for people … to embrace the vision that Pope Francis has articulated,” Coakley said.

Bishops from both the progressive and conservative flanks of the church echoed concern that Catholics aren’t reading the document.

Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, a Francis appointee, said that bishops need a statement that’s relevant amid the shaken confidence in democracy following the U.S. Capitol riot and in the wake of Dobbs and defeats for abortion opponents in votes on five state ballot measures. “It’s irresponsible to issue an old teaching and suggest the church has nothing new to say when so much of this context has changed,” he said.

Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, one of the most outspoken conservative bishops, lamented the recent state ballot measures. Polls show Catholics to be mixed on legal abortion.

“I think it’s a solid document,” Strickland said, but “I think we have to acknowledge people aren’t listening.”

The gap between Francis and the U.S. bishops reflects in part the conference’s continued emphasis on culture-war battles over abortion and same-sex marriage.

Francis, while also opposing both in keeping with church teaching, has used his papacy to emphasize a wider agenda of bringing mercy to those at the margins, such as migrants and other poor. The Vatican said in 2021 the church cannot bless gay unions because God “cannot bless sin,” but Francis has made outreach to the church’s LGBTQ members a hallmark of his papacy. As recently as last Friday, Francis met with the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest whom the pontiff has supported in his calls for dialogue with LGBTQ Catholics.

Both Pelosi and President Joe Biden, another Catholic who favors legalized abortion, have received Communion since 2021 in churches in Rome, the pope’s own diocese.

The bishops also heard an impassioned talk Wednesday by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-europe-religion-moscow-0c674a1029a3f989aed16f7d93704514">Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia</a>&nbsp;on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.

Gudziak thanked U.S. Catholics for providing millions in relief for displaced Ukrainians and urged continued American support for Ukraine’s self-defense, saying Russian assaults have left many vulnerable in the coming winter.

At the same time, he said that on a conference call with staff at a Catholic university in Lviv, he heard only joy and resolve even amid losses of electrical power in Russia’s missile barrage Tuesday. One staff member told him, “Better without electricity and with Kherson,” he said, alluding to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-europe-business-war-crimes-037bd016533420a707250d15e8075536">recently liberated city</a>.

Gudziak accused Russia of a “genocide” through such attacks and through its denial of Ukrainians’ identity as a separate people.

Also Wednesday, a small group of survivors of sexual abuse and their supporters held a sidewalk news conference outside Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, where the bishops are meeting. While this year marks the 20th anniversary of the bishops’ landmark policy barring all abusers from ministry, advocates are seeking more transparency.

They called for bishops in every diocese to post detailed lists of credibly accused abusers and to stop lobbying against state legislation that would extend statutes of limitations for abuse lawsuits.

David Lorenz, Maryland director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, cited Archbishop Broglio’s archdiocese as one of the few that still does not publish even a minimal list of abusers. Broglio declined to comment.

“I don’t need another apology because it doesn’t do anything to protect kids,” Lorenz added. “I want action to help kids. I want them (bishops) to be totally, absolutely transparent.”

Also Wednesday, the bishops voted to advance efforts to have three American women declared saints.

They include Michelle Duppong of North Dakota, a campus missionary who died of cancer in 2014 and is credited with showing faithfulness in suffering.

They also include two 20th century women: Cora Evans, a Catholic convert from Utah who reported mystical experiences from an early age; and Mother Margaret Mary Healy Murphy of Texas, founder of a religious order, who provided education and other ministry to African Americans.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1635514031020.png" alt="In Oct. of 2021&nbsp;First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, President Joe Biden and Pope Francis meet at the Vatican - President Joe Biden, a Catholic who favors legalized abortion, has received Communion since 2021 in churches in Rome, the pope’s own diocese. -photo courtesy CSPAN. " />
 <figcaption>In Oct. of 2021&nbsp;First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, President Joe Biden and Pope Francis meet at the Vatican - President Joe Biden, a Catholic who favors legalized abortion, has received Communion since 2021 in churches in Rome, the pope’s own diocese. -photo courtesy CSPAN. </figcaption>
 </figure>BALTIMORE (AP) — Even as they signaled a continued hardline stance on opposing abortion and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-relationships-gay-rights-marriage-a6d9a92c4a5cda6e4b977f516a9a71a7">same-sex marriage</a>, the nation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-81eacc2fc6d53f81eacdcadc459b500a">Catholic bishops</a>&nbsp;acknowledged Wednesday that they’re struggling to reach a key audience: their own flock.The members of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-539937dc8c2369d10a247428119d34f4">U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops</a>&nbsp;rounded out their leadership bench during the last day of public sessions of their fall annual meeting in Baltimore, which concludes with private meetings Thursday.They also set in motion a plan to recirculate their long-standing election document in 2024 — a 15-year-old statement that prioritizes opposition to abortion — while acknowledging it’s outdated and adding a cover statement addressing such things as the teachings of Pope Francis and the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling in June that overturned the nationwide right to abortion.The bishops elected Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley as secretary in a 130-104 vote over Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, who had been named a cardinal by Pope Francis. It’s the second time in five years that the bishops have passed over a Francis-appointed cardinal for a key leadership post.Earlier this year, Coakley had applauded the decision by San Francisco’s archbishop&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-congress-nancy-pelosi-san-francisco-religion-cd68155b976a60fc4f6b948acb217858">to deny Communion to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,</a>&nbsp;a Catholic Democrat from that city who supports abortion rights. So had the bishops’ new point man on opposition to abortion -- Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, elected Wednesday as chairman of its Committee on Pro-Life Activities.The votes came a day after the bishops elected as their new president Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Broglio is also seen as more of a culture warrior than Pope Francis, though Broglio has dismissed the idea of any “dissonance” between the two.At the same time, Coakley cited the importance of Francis’ priorities in a news conference Wednesday.Coakley is leading the bishops’ review of, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a document they have used in election years with only minor revisions since 2007.While a full revision will take years, bishops approved Coakley’s recommendation to begin drafting a new introduction to issue with the document in time for 2024′s election. It would incorporate recent events such as the Ukraine war and the Dobbs decision.The plan also includes using parish bulletins and social media to share main ideas from the lengthy document.Coakley said the new introduction needs to reflect Pope Francis’ priorities, such as promoting civil discourse and protecting the environment.“It’s a rich pontificate that offers us plenty to lay out for people … to embrace the vision that Pope Francis has articulated,” Coakley said.Bishops from both the progressive and conservative flanks of the church echoed concern that Catholics aren’t reading the document.Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, a Francis appointee, said that bishops need a statement that’s relevant amid the shaken confidence in democracy following the U.S. Capitol riot and in the wake of Dobbs and defeats for abortion opponents in votes on five state ballot measures. “It’s irresponsible to issue an old teaching and suggest the church has nothing new to say when so much of this context has changed,” he said.Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, one of the most outspoken conservative bishops, lamented the recent state ballot measures. Polls show Catholics to be mixed on legal abortion.“I think it’s a solid document,” Strickland said, but “I think we have to acknowledge people aren’t listening.”The gap between Francis and the U.S. bishops reflects in part the conference’s continued emphasis on culture-war battles over abortion and same-sex marriage.Francis, while also opposing both in keeping with church teaching, has used his papacy to emphasize a wider agenda of bringing mercy to those at the margins, such as migrants and other poor. The Vatican said in 2021 the church cannot bless gay unions because God “cannot bless sin,” but Francis has made outreach to the church’s LGBTQ members a hallmark of his papacy. As recently as last Friday, Francis met with the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest whom the pontiff has supported in his calls for dialogue with LGBTQ Catholics.Both Pelosi and President Joe Biden, another Catholic who favors legalized abortion, have received Communion since 2021 in churches in Rome, the pope’s own diocese.The bishops also heard an impassioned talk Wednesday by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-europe-religion-moscow-0c674a1029a3f989aed16f7d93704514">Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia</a>&nbsp;on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.Gudziak thanked U.S. Catholics for providing millions in relief for displaced Ukrainians and urged continued American support for Ukraine’s self-defense, saying Russian assaults have left many vulnerable in the coming winter.At the same time, he said that on a conference call with staff at a Catholic university in Lviv, he heard only joy and resolve even amid losses of electrical power in Russia’s missile barrage Tuesday. One staff member told him, “Better without electricity and with Kherson,” he said, alluding to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-europe-business-war-crimes-037bd016533420a707250d15e8075536">recently liberated city</a>.Gudziak accused Russia of a “genocide” through such attacks and through its denial of Ukrainians’ identity as a separate people.Also Wednesday, a small group of survivors of sexual abuse and their supporters held a sidewalk news conference outside Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, where the bishops are meeting. While this year marks the 20th anniversary of the bishops’ landmark policy barring all abusers from ministry, advocates are seeking more transparency.They called for bishops in every diocese to post detailed lists of credibly accused abusers and to stop lobbying against state legislation that would extend statutes of limitations for abuse lawsuits.David Lorenz, Maryland director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, cited Archbishop Broglio’s archdiocese as one of the few that still does not publish even a minimal list of abusers. Broglio declined to comment.“I don’t need another apology because it doesn’t do anything to protect kids,” Lorenz added. “I want action to help kids. I want them (bishops) to be totally, absolutely transparent.”Also Wednesday, the bishops voted to advance efforts to have three American women declared saints.They include Michelle Duppong of North Dakota, a campus missionary who died of cancer in 2014 and is credited with showing faithfulness in suffering.They also include two 20th century women: Cora Evans, a Catholic convert from Utah who reported mystical experiences from an early age; and Mother Margaret Mary Healy Murphy of Texas, founder of a religious order, who provided education and other ministry to African Americans.___

US Catholic bishops worry about abortion views in the pews

WASHINGTON (AP) — People in their 80s lead countries, create majestic art and perform feats of endurance. One entered the record books for scaling Mount Everest. It's soon time for Joe Biden, 80 on Sunday, to decide whether he has one more mountain to climb — the one to a second term as president.

Questions swirl now, in his own party as well as broadly in the country, about whether he's got what it takes to go for the summit again.

The oldest president in U.S. history, Biden hits his milestone birthday at a personal crossroads as he and his family face a decision in the coming months on whether he should announce for reelection. He’d be 86 at the end of a potential second term.

Biden aides and allies all say he intends to run — and his team has begun quiet preparations for a campaign — but it has often been the president himself who has sounded the most equivocal. “My intention is that I run again,” he said at a news conference this month. ”But I’m a great respecter of fate."

“We're going to have discussions about it,” he said. Aides expect those conversations to pick up in earnest over Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a decision not until well after New Year's.

Biden planned to celebrate his birthday at a family brunch in the White House on Sunday.

To observe Biden at work is to see a leader tap a storehouse of knowledge built up over a half century in public office as he draws on deep personal relationships at home and abroad, his mastery of policy and his familiarity with how Washington works or doesn't. In short, the wisdom of the aged.

“There is something to be said for experience,” said Dartmouth College historian Matt Delmont as he noted the dozens of global leaders in their 80s.

But to observe Biden is also to see him walk now often with a halting gait, in contrast to his trotting on stage on election night 2020.

It is to see him take a pass on a formal dinner with other world leaders without a real explanation, as happened on his trip abroad this past week, when he twice spoke of visiting Colombia when he meant Cambodia. Some supporters wince when he speaks, hoping he gets through his remarks OK.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision, at age 82, to pull back from leadership and let a new generation rise may spill over into Biden's thinking and that of his party as Democrats weigh whether they want to go with a proven winner or turn to the energy of youth.

Among the questions Pelosi's move raises, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, an authority on political communications at the University of Pennsylvania: "Even if one is highly competent and successful, is there a point at which one should step aside to give others the opportunity to lead just as others stepped aside to make it possible for you to do so?

“Pelosi’s decision makes such questions more salient in the context of Biden’s 2020 statement that he was the bridge to a new generation of leaders.”

Biden’s verbal flubs have been the stuff of legend throughout his five-decade political career, so sussing out the impact of age on his acuity is a guessing game for “armchair gerontologists,” as Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, an aging expert, puts it.

In the distorted mirrors of social media commentary, every slip is magnified into supposed proof of senility. A moment of silent reflection by Biden in a meeting is presented as the president nodding off. All of that went into Donald Trump's quiver of falsehoods when he announced Tuesday he will seek the presidency again.

Some allies see Biden's blunders as an increasing vulnerability in the eyes of voters as he's grown older.

In an AP VoteCast survey of the electorate this month, fully 58% of voters said he does not have the mental capability to serve effectively as president. That was a grim picture of his standing now, not just looking ahead to another potential term. Only 34% said he’s a strong leader.

Those findings come alongside notably low approval ratings in league with Trump’s at this point of their presidencies.

Two months before the 2020 election, Olshansky, at the University of Illinois, Chicago,&nbsp;<a href="https://today.uic.edu/new-study-finds-biden-trump-both-likely-to-be-super-agers/">published a paper</a>&nbsp;that predicted both Biden and Trump were bound to maintain their good health beyond the end of this presidential term.

Based on a scientific team's evaluation of available medical records, family history and other information, the paper further concluded that both men are probably “super-agers,” a subgroup of people who maintain their mental and physical functioning and tend to live longer than the average person their age.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668878072053.png" alt="Biden planned to celebrate his birthday at a family brunch in the White House on Sunday.- White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Biden planned to celebrate his birthday at a family brunch in the White House on Sunday.- White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — People in their 80s lead countries, create majestic art and perform feats of endurance. One entered the record books for scaling Mount Everest. It's soon time for Joe Biden, 80 on Sunday, to decide whether he has one more mountain to climb — the one to a second term as president.Questions swirl now, in his own party as well as broadly in the country, about whether he's got what it takes to go for the summit again.The oldest president in U.S. history, Biden hits his milestone birthday at a personal crossroads as he and his family face a decision in the coming months on whether he should announce for reelection. He’d be 86 at the end of a potential second term.Biden aides and allies all say he intends to run — and his team has begun quiet preparations for a campaign — but it has often been the president himself who has sounded the most equivocal. “My intention is that I run again,” he said at a news conference this month. ”But I’m a great respecter of fate."“We're going to have discussions about it,” he said. Aides expect those conversations to pick up in earnest over Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a decision not until well after New Year's.Biden planned to celebrate his birthday at a family brunch in the White House on Sunday.To observe Biden at work is to see a leader tap a storehouse of knowledge built up over a half century in public office as he draws on deep personal relationships at home and abroad, his mastery of policy and his familiarity with how Washington works or doesn't. In short, the wisdom of the aged.“There is something to be said for experience,” said Dartmouth College historian Matt Delmont as he noted the dozens of global leaders in their 80s.But to observe Biden is also to see him walk now often with a halting gait, in contrast to his trotting on stage on election night 2020.It is to see him take a pass on a formal dinner with other world leaders without a real explanation, as happened on his trip abroad this past week, when he twice spoke of visiting Colombia when he meant Cambodia. Some supporters wince when he speaks, hoping he gets through his remarks OK.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision, at age 82, to pull back from leadership and let a new generation rise may spill over into Biden's thinking and that of his party as Democrats weigh whether they want to go with a proven winner or turn to the energy of youth.Among the questions Pelosi's move raises, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, an authority on political communications at the University of Pennsylvania: "Even if one is highly competent and successful, is there a point at which one should step aside to give others the opportunity to lead just as others stepped aside to make it possible for you to do so?“Pelosi’s decision makes such questions more salient in the context of Biden’s 2020 statement that he was the bridge to a new generation of leaders.”Biden’s verbal flubs have been the stuff of legend throughout his five-decade political career, so sussing out the impact of age on his acuity is a guessing game for “armchair gerontologists,” as Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, an aging expert, puts it.In the distorted mirrors of social media commentary, every slip is magnified into supposed proof of senility. A moment of silent reflection by Biden in a meeting is presented as the president nodding off. All of that went into Donald Trump's quiver of falsehoods when he announced Tuesday he will seek the presidency again.Some allies see Biden's blunders as an increasing vulnerability in the eyes of voters as he's grown older.In an AP VoteCast survey of the electorate this month, fully 58% of voters said he does not have the mental capability to serve effectively as president. That was a grim picture of his standing now, not just looking ahead to another potential term. Only 34% said he’s a strong leader.Those findings come alongside notably low approval ratings in league with Trump’s at this point of their presidencies.Two months before the 2020 election, Olshansky, at the University of Illinois, Chicago,&nbsp;<a href="https://today.uic.edu/new-study-finds-biden-trump-both-likely-to-be-super-agers/">published a paper</a>&nbsp;that predicted both Biden and Trump were bound to maintain their good health beyond the end of this presidential term.Based on a scientific team's evaluation of available medical records, family history and other information, the paper further concluded that both men are probably “super-agers,” a subgroup of people who maintain their mental and physical functioning and tend to live longer than the average person their age.Nothing has changed Olshansky's mind about either of them.“While President Biden may chronologically be 80 years old, biologically he probably isn’t,” he said. “And biological age is far more important than chronological age." He calls Biden a “classic example of everything that’s good about aging ... and so his age, I think, should be almost completely irrelevant."Biden is already in the club of high achievers for people his age. Unlike 92% of people 75 and over in the U.S., he still has a job, not to mention a mightily demanding one.And he’s been on a roll. The November elections produced the best result for a Democratic president’s party in midterms in decades — despite the poison pill of high inflation — as Democrats kept control of the Senate, narrowly lost the House in defiance of expectations of a rout, and won several competitive governors’ races in key states.The president also sealed a string of consequential legislative victories in recent months, on climate, infrastructure, health care expansion, military aid to Ukraine and more.Biden says he begins most days with an 8 a.m. workout, when he is usually joined by his personal trainer and physical therapist, Drew Contreras, if he doesn’t ride his Peloton bike.“If I let it go for a week, I feel it,” he told the “Smartless” podcast recently. “I used to be able to go for a week and nothing would change.”White House aides say Biden reads his briefing book deep into the night, holds intensive evening meetings with advisers and has never balked at their scheduling requests that may have him out late, though rarely up early.Yet his aides are deeply protective of the president, especially with his public schedule, which is lighter than those of Barack Obama and George W. Bush, both far younger in office. They’ve shielded him from formal interviews and, until recently, press conferences.To his doubters, he says: “Watch me.”Biden has been diagnosed with several very common age-related health conditions, none causing him serious problems.In his November 2021 summary of Biden’s health after the president’s first full physical in office, Dr. Kevin O’Connor noted Biden’s gait had become somewhat stiffer, something doctors watch for in older patients as it could signal a fall risk.But after testing, the doctor concluded it’s mostly due to ongoing “wear and tear” arthritis of the spine, as well as compensation for a broken foot sustained a year earlier and the development of “mild peripheral neuropathy” or subtle damage to some sensory nerves in the feet.Experts say age is not destiny; what matters is good health, fitness and functioning. Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura had enough of those attributes to make it to the top of Mount Everest in 2013 at age 80, setting a record that an 85-year-old Nepali man&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mountains-ap-top-news-sports-asia-international-news-kathmandu-80626f64caee4ef98861b42e9145bca6">died trying to break</a>&nbsp;in 2017.Growing old is inexorable — at whatever pace, it comes.It came at one pace for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, for example, and it's coming at another for Pelosi, who is another institution in town.“What’s wrong with me?” Marshall asked upon his decision to retire from the Supreme Court at age 82, before answering: “I’m old. I’m getting old and coming apart.” (He died two years later.)At the same age, Pelosi buzzes Capitol hallways in high heels, outpacing much younger people. And her cognitive abilities have never been in question.The knock against her was that she blocked the highest ambitions of generations of younger lawmakers before her decision this past week not to seek reelection as House Democratic leader when Republicans take control.Supreme Court justices, shielded from the electorate and bosses, can grow as old in the job as they want and as fate allows — and they tend to stick around. Justice John Paul Stevens retired in 2010 at age 90, attributing his decision to a small stroke while reading his Citizens United dissent from the bench.Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a hugely consequential 80-something, fell three years short of her goal to be as old as Stevens on the bench. She died in September 2020.In democracies, where voters are the boss, and in autocracies, where they're not, plenty of people in power soldier on in their advanced years, even if few are up there like former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who became the world’s oldest leader at 92 and is running to get the office back, at 97.Much of the leadership in the U.S. Congress is over 70, especially Democrats, and so were Biden's main rivals in the 2020 Democratic primaries and Trump.Attribute that, in part, to increasing longevity.“Life expectancy back around 1900 in the United States was about 50,” Olshansky said, “and we added about 30 years” since.In Cockeysville, Maryland, outside Baltimore, Nelson Hyman, 85, and his wife, Roz Hyman, 77, credit Biden with getting big things right and especially with appointing a strong team. To these Democrats, that adds up to an effective presidency that taps the value of age in a society that often doesn't.“I’ve always felt the president is as good as the people that he appoints, and I think he’s appointed some very, very good people, very competent people, and he uses them,” said Roz, a retired counselor in a psychiatric hospital.“Now, are you going to ask me, is he going to be competent in two years? Who knows? I don’t know.”A president can only be conceptual, said Nelson, retired from an insurance career, “and the detail people will take care of the details.” When Russia's Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, he said, Biden stepped up, ”spoke beautifully and strongly" and "has not been afraid to deal with Putin. Not at all.”They recalled seeing Ronald Reagan struggle in his second term, before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's after he left office, and felt that he, too, had surrounded himself with competence, as much as they disagreed with his direction.Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, said Reagan posted major achievements even when his memory may have been slipping, in part because his aides were strong and accomplished and Reagan retained the values that informed his judgments.That's true of many presidents, Biden included, she said. Trump, in contrast, preferred a team largely of acolytes.But when a perception does take hold in the public, any slipup can feed it, whether it is relevant or not.When Biden tumbled on his bicycle in Delaware in June, his foot or feet caught in the pedals' cages, the mishap fed the perception of a president not at the top of his game physically.“Those of us that know a little about aging were pretty impressed by the fact that he was on his bicycle to begin with ... that you’ve got somebody who is really active and healthy for his age," said Olshansky. Instead, the focus was on his injury-free fall.Ageism pops up in campaigns even when opposing candidates are both old themselves; witness Trump's references to “Sleepy Joe” in 2020 and Biden's characterization of Trump as “mentally deranged.”But it was particularly pronounced in the 2008 presidential contest between Obama, 47 in that fall's campaign, and Sen. John McCain, then 72.When Obama misidentified the city he was in, the flub was attributed to a long day by a nation-trotting barnstormer, Jamieson said. When McCain did that, it was his age.The Obama campaign exploited the age gap in what Jamieson said were underhanded ways. She noticed and, with her technical team, confirmed that in at least two ads, recordings of McCain had been slowed down to make him sound mentally feeble.But the sharpest cracks about age came from McCain himself.“Good evening, my fellow Americans,” he said on “Saturday Night Live." "I ask you, what should we be looking for in our next president? Certainly someone who is very, very, very old.”